Uncharted: Easy Money
by millas14
Summary: Drake is hired to search for the fabled Fountain of Youth, but he's not the only one. What seems like a free vacation and easy money probably won't turn out to be so. Rated T
1. Easy Money

Merry Christmas everyone! I started to get a little bored with just doing the Naruto Yuri fics, so now I'm branching off into something else for a while.

Now, about this, this came to me when I saw a few photos of women cosplaying as Lara Croft, and trying to develop my own Drake costume for next halloween. So, here it is! R&R and enjoy!

Rated T for now.

**Disclaimer: I only own the people you have never heard of. In fact, I don't know why I'm putting this in, if I owned anything, it'd be in mainstream media. Like a comic book or something. How awesome would that be?**

* * *

"So she shot ya down?" Sully chuckled as he plopped down into a beach chair next to his longtime partner Nathan Drake.

"Not exactly, she just said she needed time to think it over." Drake replied with a hint of depression in his voice as he examined the diamond engagement ring he held. He had proposed marriage to his girlfriend, photojournalist Elena Fisher, with less than desirable results.

She had seemed flattered, but soon after declared that she needed time to think about it before giving her answer.

"So she packed her crap and left you high and dry. Well, good riddance; women bring nothing but trouble." The older man declared and placed a cold bottle of beer next to Drake's unoccupied hand, "Now drink up, this is somethin' to celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?"

"Me being right! I've always said that women are good for a quick fling, but once you try to take it further, they step on ya."

Drake frowned and picked up the drink, "She didn't step on me. She just kinda…"

"Kid, face it, she trampled ya like a fuckin' wild bronco during amateur hour at the rodeo." Sully flashed a cocky grin as he took a swig of his beer and replaced his cigar, "And frankly, I was startin' to get sick of all the lovey-dovey crap you two were throwin' around."

"Do you think it had something to do with me dressing up like one of those Shambhala Yetis on April Fool's?"

"Ok, that's it!" The older man slammed his beer into the cup holder of his beach chair and snatched the ring from Drake's hand, "For three days you've been sitting in that damn chair staring at this damn ring acting like a damn woman."

Immediately Drake was on his feet, "Give me that ring, Sully." He held out his hand. "Not until you A, take a shower, and B, get your balls back. Consider this," he shook the ring box, "your man card. You can have it back when you come back from this delusion of love."

Sully turned to go back into the hut the two shared on their little island paradise, pocketing the little black case. "Sully! Give it back!" drake shouted and talked the mustached man from behind, his hand going for his pocket.

"Nate, what the hell is your problem?"

The two wrestled for a few moments in the sand, Sully trying to keep the seemingly deranged archeologist away from the ring box, and said adventurer clawing for it. After all, he had spent good money on that.

They were brought out of their conflict by the sound of a horn. A boat's horn, to be exact.

A small schooner was approaching the small dock where Sully kept his own boat docked. The two men sat up and stared at it for a moment, "Looks like we got company." Sully stated as Drake stood up and grabbed a pair of binoculars from the small table next to his chair.

He peered through them at the lone figure standing at the bow of the boat. It was a man of average height, about five foot nine, dressed in what looked to be a formal grey suit and a white Panamanian hat. As the schooner came to a halt and dropped its anchor, the man stepped down to the deck and picked up a small brown briefcase before disembarking.

Drake and Sully both made their way down to the tiki bar they had built at the head of the dock.

The man strode up to the bar, a seemingly arrogant stride in his step. "Mr. Drake, I presume?" He said with a mild British accent as he held his hand up to Sully, who chuckled and pointed to his companion, "Sorry, buddy, but I'm too good lookin' to be him."

"Oh, my apologies," the man turned his attention to the real deal and shook his hand, "I had assumed from what I'd heard of you that you would be…"

"Be what?" Drake enquired with a cocky smirk, "Older?"

The man cleared his throat, "Yes, well, erm…" the man was obviously embarrassed at his mistake.

"Where're my manners, please, have a seat…" he paused. "Plithiver." The man said as he took his seat, "Benjamin Plithiver."

"Riiight. Do you want something to drink? I think we got something…"

"Thank you, no." Plithiver cut him off, "I'd like to get, as you Americans say, down to the 'nitty gritty'."

Drake merely shrugged and plopped down into a chair opposite the Brit. Plithiver set his briefcase on the table and opened it, "Have you heard of the Fountain of Youth, Mr. Drake?"

"Sure, it's a tourist attraction in Florida and Bimini, first found by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. It's nothing special." He shrugged as the British man placed a photo of said attraction on the table.

"Well, I'm here representing a very wealthy benefactor, whom is willing to fund an…excursion to find the real fountain."

"The real fountain?" Sully chimed in from behind the bar. "Yes, my client believes that there is an actual fountain from the legends that can grant eternal life to whomsoever bathes in its water."

"Sounds familiar." Drake said coyly, remembering the horrors of Shambhala and the Tree of Life. "And who exactly is this benefactor of yours?"

"He prefers to remain anonymous, but I can assure you, he will pay you well for your services, whether or not you find a fountain."

Both Drake and Sully choked on air as Plithiver spun around his briefcase, revealing quite a hefty sum of money.

"Two-hundred thousand US dollars up front, and more once the job is complete."

"Deal." Drake spoke without taking even a second to consider.

"Excellent. There will be a reservation for you at the Plaza Hotel in St. Augustine." Plithiver stood up, "The reservation will also be for a guest, I assume that your… friend here will be coming?"

"A free vacation in Florida and the Bahamas? Hell yeah I'm goin'!" Sully proclaimed, clapping his hands together.

"Very well then, I shall phone my client and have the reservation set for the twentieth of this month. Good day, Mr. Drake." He bowed his head before turning and leaving for his ship.

"Two-hundred grand and a free vacation." Drake said in disbelief once Plithiver was out of earshot. "And all for something that's already been discovered. God, I love my life." He grinned and turned back to Sully, "Now, about that ring."

xXx

"Yes, my Lady." The man confirmed as he sat across from the noblewoman he was trying to hire in her spacious common room, "We are willing to pay you greatly for anything that you come across. You may keep anything you find to at to your… collection."

"That's all fine," the brunette across the table replied, resting her chin in her palm whilst she stared at the money in the briefcase, "But I'm telling you, there is no such place, just a sulfur pool for tourists and a gift shop. In reality you're just paying me to take a vacation."

"It may seem so, but I can assure you that my client has a firm belief that there is something there. Either way, you get paid."

"Very well then, Mr. Plithiver, I accept. But I assure you, I will not find anything."

"Thank you, my lady, I assure you that my client will be satisfied either way. Your reservation will be set for the twentieth of this month at the Plaza Hotel in St. Augustine, and will include two guests. I will be in touch should you need me."

"Thank you. Winston will show you out." She waved her hand and her butler gestured for the man to follow.

"That guy doesn't sit right with me." The woman turned around to see her tech-support, Zip, leaning against the banister on the second level. "Me neither, but it's a free vacation and a little extra pocket change."

"You're packing heavy aren't you?" he said with an amused tone.

"I always do."

* * *

Ok, there's chapter one! sorry it's a little short, I'll work on that. Tell me what you think!


	2. Arrival

Ok, here's chapter 2! Sorry for the wait, i'm trying to do these characters justice. anyway, R&R and enjoy! *EDIT* ok, so i'm in the process of playing TR underworld, and I just found out Alister died, so, I've taken him out, in order to appease the hardcore TR fans reading this to keep with the canon.

* * *

The boat ride from Panama was dull and uneventful, save for a close call with the US Port authorities. Drake stretched out his arms and massaged the kink in his neck from sleeping with a coiled rope as a pillow.

"We here already?" He asked with a groan as Sully eased them into the dock.

"Yep, last stop: St. Augustine."

Drake helped Sully tether the boat to the dock before disembarking.

The sky was only slightly overcast such that the sun was covered only a part of the time and a light breeze shook the trees. Even from the dock, Drake could tell that the town was a small one.

"Mr. Drake?" a female voice called out to him. Drake turned as a woman in her mid-twenties strolled down the dock towards them. She was fairly pretty; her blonde hair was tied up in a tight bun, her brown eyes covered by a pair of small, feminine-looking glasses. She was dressed in a grey suit, the skirt of which ended at her knees, and in her hand she carried a small briefcase.

She stopped rigidly before the duo and held out her hand, "My name is Suzanne Sommers, and I will be your guide during your stay in St. Augustine." Drake shook her hand, a smirk on his face.

"I-" he began to speak, but Sully nudged him aside and kissed the woman's hand, "Victor Sullivan, at your service." Suzanne seemed slightly repulsed. "Yes, well, if you will follow me, I have a car waiting to take you to your hotel. Although, I'm afraid my associate misspoke when he hired you," she said as she turned to walk back up the dock, Drake and Sully falling in step; the latter of whom eagerly watching her skirt mold around her as she walked, "You will be staying at the Casa Monica Hotel, the finest, and oldest, hotel in all of St. Augustine."

"Uh-huh."

Drake leaned over and whispered in his friend's ear, "You're a dirty man, Sully." Sully responded with "Damn right!"

They reached the car, a jet-black limo, and Drake's eyes lit up, "A limo? Are you serious?" he laughed as he climbed into the back seat, Sully just as impressed, especially with the mini bar.

"Now, Mr. Drake, the Fountain attraction opens at nine a.m. tomorrow morning," Suzanne spoke as the driver started the engine to take them to the hotel, "My employer assumed you wished to remain in town for an extra day or two, so your rooms are paid for until Friday, so you have four days to enjoy the sights; after the job is done, of course."

"Great, I could use a vacation."

xxxxx

Lady Lara Croft yawned and stretched out her arms as her private plane pulled into the small airport of St. Augustine. The flight from London seemed short, with the occasional airsickness from Winston, her butler. She didn't think she would find anything at the Fountain, but each time she thought that, she began to think about her discovery of King Arthur's tomb in London, so she wasn't going to rule anything out. Though, she was still a little skeptical.

She unfastened her seatbelt once the light was off and started to gather her luggage together as Zip and Winston got theirs.

"Lara?" Zip spoke as they disembarked from the plane, "Tell me again, exactly why do you need us? I mean, if this is such an easy thing, then why not just leave us back at the manor?"

"Well, Zip, I thought it would do you some good to get out for a little bit of sun. After all, you've been sitting in the command center for weeks." Lara stated casually as she straightened out the white fabric of her pantsuit and descended the gangplank onto the tarmac where a car was waiting for her.

Standing next to the car was a woman in a black semi-casual suit, her brown hair tied up in a tight bun, and a pair of feminine-looking glassed covering her dark eyes. "Ms. Croft?" The woman held out her hand as she approached the tomb raider.

Lara shook her hand in greeting. "My name is Suzanne Sommers, and I will be your guide during your stay in St. Augustine. Your reservations at the Casa Monica Hotel have been set, so if you and your companions will step into the car, we will be on our way."

"Very well."

The bags were loaded into the car, Winston loading all of luggage into the trunk of the limo, despite Zip telling him that he was on vacation.

"Now then, Ms. Croft, the Fountain opens to the public at nine tomorrow morning, and I do suggest you get there early. Also, we have reserved the presidential suite for yourself, and one of the larger suites for your associates. We have also had the room outfitted the room with a gun locker for your… accessories."

"Thank you, is there anything else that we need to know?" Lara asked. "Nothing imperative to complete the job. Though, I'm sure that you've already been told that the rest of your payment will be transferred to your account upon completion of the job." Suzanne replied.

They soon pulled up the long driveway to the hotel. It was a large red brick building several stories high, with a tower-like wing at each of the four corners, and a large rotunda covering the bulk of the main structure (1).

The group climbed out of the car. Zip was in awe once they entered the lobby; it was massive, original Spanish art hung from the walls, bronze statues stood poised in small alcoves, and the strings of classical music flooded the space. Suzanne led the group to the front desk and checked them in, before leading them to their rooms.

Zip and Winston got off on the fourth floor and quickly found their room.

Lara's suite was on the highest floor, the view facing towards the docks. "I trust everything is to your satisfaction?" Suzanne asked as a bellboy entered with Lara's luggage. "Yes, thank you, is there anything else I need to know?" she asked as she walked away from the window whilst Suzanne handed the bellboy his tip.

"No. I'll leave you to your privacy." The woman placed a card on the counter, "My card, in case you need anything."

After Suzanne had left, Lara began to think. Something was wrong about all of this; an unknown benefactor, being paid to locate a myth that's been located. It had all the makings of a bad movie.

The brunette shrugged it off for now and took her luggage into the rather large bedroom and began to unpack. Lara had packed light this trip, only a few changes of clothes, a swimsuit, and of course her custom pistols. Not that she thought she'd need them. When she finished putting away her things she toured the rest of the suite.

It had a full kitchen, a living room with a flat-screen TV, as well as one in the bedroom and a full bathroom with both a shower and a tub and an array of scented oils and bubble baths.

She examined each of the bottles individually before turning on the water for the tub and adding the vanilla scented oil and a cherry scented bubble bath. Lara was about to strip off her suit when the phone rang. She groaned inwardly as she grabbed the device, "Yes?" she answered. "Hey, Lara," it was Zip, "Me and Winston are going to grab some food at that restaurant downstairs, they said it was included in the rooms. Wanna come?"

"Not right now, perhaps later." She replied and hung up. Lara returned to the bath and removed her clothes and let her hair out of its ponytail before sliding her lithe form into the steaming, bubbly water. It felt good to relax once in a while, and to just feel like a woman, dammit.

Lara awoke an hour later, not realizing she had fallen asleep. The water in the bath had gotten cold, and her skin had pruned. "Damn.' She cursed under her breath and hoisted herself out of the tub and wrapped herself in one of the fluffy white robes that hung on the wall and her hair in a small towel.

She glanced out the window, the telltale pink hue of the sky signaling late afternoon. The aristocrat grabbed her cell phone as she laid down on her bed and checked the screen, there was an unread text message from Zip; 'going 2 pool, wanna go?' it was timed ten minutes ago. She considered it for a moment before sending her reply; 'omw'.

xxxxx

The indoor pool was massive. The water was heated to just the right temperature, was relatively free of people, and, the best part according to Sully, a free bar. The suite they were staying in was a far cry above what Drake and Sully were used to, what with the hostels, run-down motels and makeshift campsites.

Drake reclined comfortably in the poolside chair closest to the fifteen-foot diving board, a small glass of whisky in his hand. This was going to be the easiest job ever. In the morning, he and Sully would go to the fountain, find nothing, and spend the week living the high life.

He glanced over to the bar, where Sully was shamelessly flirting with a twenty-something hotel patron. He was either very drunk, or perfectly sober. Sadly, the girl was falling for whatever angle Sully was playing, and soon enough, the two of them stood up, Sully wrapped his arm around her waist and they exited. Drake was now very afraid to return to the room.

"Sully, you're a dirty, dirty man." He chuckled under his breath as he took another sip of his whisky, finishing it off. As he set it down on the small round table by the bench he caught sight of a sight that made his jaw drop. A brunette waltzed into the pool area with the body of a goddess, her little black bikini hugging her lithe frame and accentuating her ample bust nicely.

"Son…of…a…bitch." He muttered as he watched her. His hand then shot up to the two rings hanging on a chain around his neck, one being the ring of his ancestor, Sir Frances Drake, the other the engagement ring he had offered Elena. The woman approached two other men, a black guy with his dreadlocks tied back in a type of ponytail, and a wrinkled prune of a man in Hawaiian shorts and a wide-beater.

They conversed for a moment whilst the woman set down her things, before she walked over to the ladder for the diving board and climbed up. Once at the top, she made her way to the edge and stood for a moment with perfect poise, before performing a perfect swan dive into the pool.

"Goddamn…"

* * *

(1) I don't know the exact layout of the hotel, so i'm taking a few guesses and liberties.

ok! Next chapter Lara and Nate start working! And just who is this mystery employer? And why are there two Suzanne Sommers? Review! I thrive off of feedback


	3. Discovery

Ok, quick word, I'm in the process of playing TR underworld, and I just found out that Alister was killed off, so i took him out and put Winston the butler in. Also, this chapter is kinda Drakecentric, and i'm going to try and make at least either the next chapter or the one after that Lara-centric for all the TR fans reading and getting pissed that she's got such little facetime.

Without further adeu, R&R and enjoy!

* * *

Mornings sucked; didn't matter which day it was, mornings sucked.

Drake yawned as he and Sully stood in the line of Starbucks. He looked over the extensive menu, there were too many 'cino's' up there. Cappucino, frappucino, Derkaderkacino… It was to the point that once the two reached the front of the line, Drake's sluggish morning brain was so overwhelmed, when the girl at the register asked him what he wanted, he responded, "Coffeecino, hold the cino. Heavy on the coffee."

The girl merely smirked at his lame attempt at humor and rang up his drink.

Drake and Sully grabbed their drinks once they came up and left the store. They had decided to walk to the fountain rather than take the town car that had been sent for them, as Drake wanted to get his blood flowing. That and he prayed he would meet the guy who invented seven a.m.

The architecture of St. Augustine was amazing to look at. The majority of the buildings were refurbished sixteenth century buildings, and a few of the roads were cobblestone. There were a few quaint mom-and-pop stores, as well as an interesting looking McDonald's.

The Fountain was going to open soon, and thankfully Drake and Sully were close to the park.

There was a very small line at the entrance, mostly full of middle-aged tourists. It was like looking at a group of Sully's clones. The thought alone made Drake shudder. The only people that stood out were the people Drake had seen the day before at the pool, the female of which looked familiar from somewhere other than the hotel, but he couldn't place it.

The woman was dressed in tight fitting olive-colored pants and a black jacket with interesting looking boots. She was no ordinary tourist.

The park opened soon after and the group paid the entry fee and made its way through the park to the small pond (1) that was the Fountain of Youth. It was a dismal sight. There were fake trees around it, trash was scattered around, and there was only a small plaque. The Fountain itself was slightly larger than a hotel hot tub, and the water stemmed from a small rock mound that protruded behind it.

Drake glanced over at the woman, she had a small digital camera pointed at the sight while speaking to her compatriots.

"So this is it, We're gettin' a wad of cash for this?" Sully spoke up, "I'm not one to look an easy job in the ass, but come on."

"Yeah…" Drake wasn't really paying attention.

After a few minutes, the number of tourists dwindled until it was just Drake, Sully, and the other group of three, whom kept shooting glances over, as if waiting for them to leave.

"Hey, Sully," Drake said after a while, "Think you can distract them for a minute?" he nodded his head to the others, "I wanna take a look at the area."

Sully glanced at the others, particularly at the woman. "You got it. Got my radio on."

Drake waited a moment as Sully worked his magic, even though they looked really annoyed. Once their backs were turned, he quickly moved over the railing and around the Fountain until he was behind the rock. He looked around, there was nothing there.

"Great," he muttered to himself. He turned to go back when he felt a cool draft on his cheek. It was odd because there was no breeze. He looked at the rock and ran his hand along it, it was cool, and there was definitely air coming through it.

Drake felt around a little more and found a small dip where he could open the source of the draft. Taking a moment, he peeked out from behind the rock, Sully was still keeping the group distracted; the older one at least. He returned to the rock and pulled it open slightly. There was a passage behind it that was just wide enough for a person to fit through. It went down into blackness, and there was a moderate breeze rising up.

"Hello, what have we here?"

He reached into the satchel he wore on his hip and pulled out a road flare. Just before he lit it he stopped and put it back, "Right, sulfur. Boom."

He pulled out his flashlight and pointed it down. The hole wasn't that deep. Drake eased himself down into the cavern and shut the wall behind him. There was a small crawlspace in the floor, which Drake shimmied into it and crawled along, grunting along the way, and hitting his head against the ceiling.

"Gah! Oh, sure, great job, Nate. Easy money, sure; there's not gonna be anything here, sure; free vacation, easy livin' in a ritzy suite. I'd better find something I can sell or I'm gonna be pissed." He complained to himself as he emerged into a spacious cavern. Drake hooked his flashlight onto his belt and looked around.

The walls were wet with runoff from the fountain above, a big basin in the floor, and odd markings around the inside of it. And then he saw the skeletons.

The deceased were dressed in sixteenth century Spanish armor, each of them had one or more arrows protruding from them, and a few were missing their heads.

"Well, now, what happened to you?" He looked closer at the markings, it seemed to be Spanish, probably the last words of dying men.

"Hey, Nate, you there?" Sully's voice sounded over the radio. "Yeah, and I found something. Spaniards, Sully, and a few of them at that."

"Great. Anything worth selling?"

"Don't know yet. Hold on, I'm gonna look around a little more."

"Alright, kid, but be careful that really fine brunette may be joining you in a second."

"Ok, I'll be careful." Drake turned off his radio and shined his light around the chamber, the same markings in the basin were also scratched in the walls, as well as a few more Spaniards. Drake approached one of the walls and ran his hand over the markings.

"Day 12: The savages send small rodents down to us, their reasoning I know not," he read to himself, "Captain De Leon has abandoned us, I know. His obsession for finding his Fountain has driven him mad. What he intends to find in the negro (2) homeland I care not for, I only wish to see my dear Maria. -Ricard Murrietta"

Drake looked down at the skeleton at the foot of the wall. It had its hand clutched to its chest, and Drake could see a locket clutched in its hand. "Poor guy."

There were large hieroglyphs carved into the wall at the far end of the chamber. Drake pulled out his journal and a pen and quickly jotted them down: A sun, a serpent, a symbol that resembled reeds by a river, and an elephant. He also wrote down different phrases from the text he thought important. "These gotta mean something." The mused to himself, "'Negro homeland'? Africa?"

Drake quickly shut off his light when he heard the scraping of the stone door at the front of the entrance and ducked behind a cropping of stalagmites near the entrance that would shield him from view.

xxxxx

Lara had found the passage easily. After that annoying old man had accepted their directions to the gift shop he made a quick exit from the area so she could look around in peace. There was nothing really remarkable about the area, but the slab stood out like a sore thumb to the trained eye.

Now she shimmied through the small tunnel, glad she didn't wear her standard tomb raiding gear as her rather pronounced bust made the crawl very uncomfortable. She soon emerged in the circular chamber and switched on her tac-light. "Amazing." She muttered to herself as she looked around at all of the marking carved into the walls.

She pulled out her small camcorder and began filming, starting with the corpse-filled basin. "Oh, these poor souls." She gasped and turned her attention to the markings on the walls. "These markings," she began narrating for her video-journal, "appear to be the last words of the dead Spaniards. There are hundreds of them."

She zoomed in on one, "Day 5: We are starving, Captain De Leon will come for us, I know. I long to reach the shores of the negro homeland and help the Captain achieve his dream, and we shall return to Puerto Rico to fame and glory greater than that of Captain Columbus. –Antonio Mardas"

Lara closed the camera, "Negro homeland? Of course! Scientists believe that life originated in Africa, so it would make sense that something life-giving like the Fountain of Youth would be there!" The only problem was, she didn't know which part of Africa Ponce De Leon had gone to. But she could easily find out. Or at least and settlements the Spanish may have had on the continent.

"Thank you, lads," she said to the skeletons, "rest in peace."

* * *

(1) Never been to the attraction, so i'm taking liberties.

(2) Period speak

Ok, so things are starting to pick up, next chap the exciting action bits start, then the groups are off to Africa after a pit stop! Also, if anyone knows of any colonies Spain had in Africa, plz let me know and save me some research. Thanks! Review por favor!


	4. Escape

I am soooo sorry for the year-long wait! but, well, block's a bitch, and I turned 21 last month so i've been living it up. So, to make it up to all of you, this chapter's all action, yes, just one big verb of a chapter. R&R and enjoy!

* * *

Lara tossed her camera on the bed of her room as she removed the memory card from its housing. She pulled her laptop out of her suitcase with the card reader and set it up. Once the program was running the video she skipped over the first ten minutes, which were mostly just the prattling on of the old American who kept switching between hitting on her and giving false information about the site as if to impress her. Why was it that everyone in the country seemed to either be stupid or just...well, mostly just that. Although he was charming in his own way.

The Tomb Raider reversed the video several times to read more of the scratchings on the walls she had missed. "I know De Leon went to Africa, but what part?" She thought aloud to herself as she pulled up her internet browser and pulled up a map of Africa. "The only place he could have landed would have been Rio Muni, assuming that he went for the heart of Africa..."

She groaned and pulled the tie out of her hair, letting it fall free, "Then that's where we're headed." Lara reached for her bag to retrieve the contact info she needed to pass along her findings to Ms. Sommers, per their arrangement.

As she typed in the e-mail, she heard the sound of creaking floorboard from outside her door alerted her. She would have written it off as the steeling of the building, had it not been for the nearly unnoticeable click of the door lock. Lara reached back into her bag and pulled out one of her custom pistols and set it in her lap, moving to look unaware as her would-be assailant crept into the room. He was skilled, she had to give him that, anyone else would never have noticed him.

Quickly she pivoted out of her chair, bringing her gun around. The assassin was closer than she had thought and delivered a precision strike to knock the gun out of her hand and onto the bed. She blocked the punch-blade aimed at her throat and delivered a solid kick to his abdomen, knocking him back a few steps. The assailant recovered and came at her with more vigor than before, throwing punch after strike after kick, and even landing a few glancing blows. This man was skilled.

Lara side stepped another strike with the punch-blade and grabbed his arm, twisting her body and threw him over her shoulder. Lara held his arm behind his back and dug the heel of her boot into the back of his neck, "Who sent you?" she growled at him while panting to catch her breath. The assassin didn't respond.

She twisted his arm to the bring of breaking and shouted again. The man looked up at her and smirked as foam began to creep out the side of his mouth. Lara made a grab to stop him from swallowing the poison, but was too late as his body began to spasm. "Damn!" she cursed as she noticed Zip and Winston appear in the doorway.

"What the hell happened?" Zip asked as he looked at the corpse on the floor.

"I assume someone felt I shouldn't be going any further in my search." Lara sat on the bed.

"Do you know who sent him?" Winston asked as he examined the body.

"No, but I have an idea."

All three heads snapped up as they heard three gunshots coming from somewhere nearby. Lara snatched up her stray pistol as well as the one still in her bag and dashed down the hall towards the commotion. She found another open door at the end of the hallway and darted around the corner, guns aimed.

She saw another assassin, dead on the floor, with two holes in his chest, as well as the man who had stayed behind the group at the Fountain, his gun aimed at the her.

"So, what, lady? You want a piece too?" He was panting heavily, blood leaked from the side of his mouth, he had several cuts along his torso, and several bruises starting to form.

Lara eyed the dead assassin, "Is he..."

"Dead?" he cut her off, "He better be. The Sonovabitch was tough. I gotta shoot you too?"

She eyed him warily for a moment before lowering her guns. Thankfully he did the same.

"Who are you?" she asked, glancing between the man and the corpse.

He eyed her just at warily, stopping a little too long on her chest, "Name's Drake."

Lara stepped into the room, "You should have left him alive." she said as Zip and Winston appeared.

"Are you nuts? I make it a policy not to try and leave people who are trying to kill me alive."

"If you had, we could've found out why they were sent to kill us. The man who tried to kill me took a cyanide capsule before I could question him."

"Wait, you got one of these bozos too?" Drake looked at her incredulously, "Ok, my turn to ask, who the hell are you?"

"Lara Croft, and I think that..."

"Wait, wait," he cut her off again, "_The_ Lara Croft? The Tomb Raider?"

"Yes, and from what I can gather, you are a freelance treasure hunter?" She cocked an eye at him.

"What makes you think that?" He leaned against the wall and shrugged his shoulders.

"Your presence at the Fountain, and the chap on the floor there. I think we may be on the same hunt. Same benefactor, who I would assume wants us dead."

Lara turned as she heard the telltale cock of a magnum revolver. She saw the old man from the fountain standing in the doorway with his gun switching between her, Zip, and Winston.

"Drop the guns, sweetheart." he growled over the cigar in his mouth.

"Sully, it's ok, they're clean." Drake stated as he moved over to the window.

Sully lowered his gun and eyed them.

"Shit." Drake stated from the window, "Well, Lara, if your theory about where the assasin's came from is correct, we'd better get the hell outta here."

"Why?" Lara asked as she stepped over the body and saw three black cars pull up and four men stepped out in total, followed by two women. The men were clearly armed.

"Sully, you in the mood for a shootout?" Drake asked.

"No," Lara stated, "There are too many people around. Zip, Winston, get the bags, quickly, and get somewhere safe, I'll draw their attention. We'll meet outside the city and charter a plane to Africa."

"No," Drake stopped them, "Sully, take 'em to the harbor, get the boat ready, we'll use that as our getaway. Just be ready to go."

Drake looked at her, "_We'll_ draw their attention, they're after both of us." Zip and Winston looked at Lara, who nodded to them.

"And break!" Drake clapped his hands as he grabbed a shoulder holster from a back and slung it over his shoulders and slid his pistol into its housing.

Lara and Drake left the room and climbed into the elevator after making a quick stop for Lara to grab her holsters. "I assume you have a plan, Mr. Drake?" Lara asked as she put her hair back into its ponytail.

"Do you?" he asked as he replaced his magazine. "Well, I was thinking that..."

"Great," he cut her off yet again, "Me neither." The ding of the elevator signaled their arrival.

The two treasure hunters stepped off the lift. They got several looks from patrons as they walked by, who became visibly worried as they saw their weapons. As the two walked into the lobby they saw the men in suits at the reception desk, demanding their room numbers from the sobbing receptionist. It was odd considering that it was Ms. Sommers, who was with them, who had set up the rooms.

"Hey, Sommers!" Drake shouted, much to Lara's surprise. The six of them looked back, "Next time try not to get someone from Killers R Us!" As the men drew their guns, Drake drew his and shot two glancing shots missing entirely.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lara shouted as the ducked behind a couple of pillars as the gunfire rained, "Making a distraction." Drake replied, "Now shoot!"

They both wheeled out and opened fire. Lara killed two, and Drake the other two, leaving only the two women.

"Now we run." Drake said with a wink to the women, who had gotten out of the way when the shooting started. They darted out the door and looked around, they saw two more black cars roll into the parking lot.

"Here." Drake said as he shot the lock off of a bicycle with a seat big enough for the two of them and climbed on.

"Are you serious? We need something faster!" Lara shouted, wanting something preferably with more protection, or at least speed.

"We don't have time to hotwire, now get on, princess!"

She groaned and climbed on, holing on as Drake turned and began to ride through the planters around the cars that were now shooting at them. Lara glanced back as the first car followed them into the foliage. She drew one of her pistols and turned to shoot, and was almost knocked off when Drake hit a bump as the moved onto the street.

"Sorry!" he shouted back.

The car was gaining, they only had a second. Drake made a hard turn and went down an alley. The car screeched as it tried to follow them. It was back momentarily.

"Lift your arms!" Lara shouted and expertly pivoted around so she was sitting on Drake's lap facing backward.

"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted.

Lara didn't respond, she began to fire at the car, hitting the driver, which caused the car to crash and flip. The second car immediately took its place as they went back onto the main road. It was then that Lara felt something poking her, she glanced down and the glared at Drake.

"What? You're the hot one sitting on my lap, don't blame me."

Lara began to fire at the second car, trying to place her shots so she wouldn't hit any innocents.

"Hold on!" Drake warned as they came to a hill. Lara glanced back to see that it led to the harbor, a mile away. "Keep 'em off us!"

Lara shot again hitting the driver and causing another wreck. Just when Lara was about to relax, red and blue lights showed up behind them as a police car took up the pursuit. Lara holstered her guns as the officer came on over the PA. "Pull the bike over! Do it now!"

"Drake, pull over, we..."

"Hell no!" he shouted, "I've spent enough time locked up, we're almost there!"

"What?" Lara began to rattle and shake as the bike hit the boardwalk. Drake heaved and grunted as he petaled toward the boat at the end, which was already pulling away with Zip, Winston, and Sully aboard.

"Could you get those things out of my face?" he shouted as he rode for a makeshift ramp at the end. "You're not going to..." Lara asked just as they hit the ramp and went soaring at just the right angle to crash on the deck of the fishing boat.

The two tumbled from the bike, Lara landing gracefully on her feet and Drake rolling and hitting the side, his breath coming in long dry heaves.

"Did you just outrun the cops and those guys on a bike?" Zip asked as he stared at the sweating, heaving man on the deck, "Yeah," Drake panted, "It was easy."

"Nate, you ok?" Sully called back from the helm.

"Yeah, totally, just... need to get the feeling back in my legs. Have we got a wheelchair?"

Lara looked down at him as he sat up, "Wild ride, huh?"

"I don't know what you were thinking back there, but we were almost killed! And now we're fugitives! God, what were you thinking?"

"Something along the lines of 'Holy crap they're shooting at me'" Drake stood up, "Look, it may not have been the best, but we made it. Sully," he called, "Take us somewhere where we can get a plane to Africa."

"What are you doing?" Lara asked as she walked after him.

"Whoever this guy is that hired us obviously wants something with the Fountain of Youth. And I intend to find out what. Plus, I don't like when people try to kill me. So don't worry, we'll get you on a plane back home in time for the big cricket match."

Lara huffed at him, "I'm not dropping out now. I'm curious about the Fountain as well. I set out to do a job, and I intend to see it done."

"So, what, we're doing like a partnership or something?"

Lara thought for a moment. "Yes," she held out her hand, "We find the Fountain, and our benefactor, and figure out what the bloody mess is about. So, Partners?" Drake looked at her before cocking a smirk and slapping his hand into hers, "Yeah, sure. Partners."


End file.
